Moving On
by ThatchersHeart2
Summary: Shortly after the death of her husband, Elizabeth Thornton moves far away to Fort Simpson. Follow her journey as she makes new friends and tries to move on with her life.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Tears were silently falling down Elizabeth's cheeks as she packed her bags. She'd taken a few of her favourite dresses including one that Jack had expressed a liking to. She put a couple of his shirts into the bag, along with her photos of him and her, a couple blank journals and a small box of letters and notes. She looked down on the bed to see the book of all her stories that Jack had gotten made a couple years before. She let out a small sob as she put the book into the bag. She closed the bags, one with her clothes and one with her other belongings, and did up the buckles. Her hand reached up to her neck where her engagement ring and her and Jack's wedding rings hung from a chain, she grabbed the rings and held them to her lips for a moment.

This was it. She couldn't stay in Hope Valley any longer. Everywhere she turned, there was something that reminded her of Jack. All she felt was pain. She needed to get away, and move on. Elizabeth had contacted a small village up North, the people of Fort Simpson were more than excited to have her open a small school there after theirs was shut down a few months before.

She had contacted her father, he was weary of her moving but after some convincing, gave her his blessing. She'd begged her father not to say a word to anyone else, she wanted some time to adjust to the new life. William insisted on sending her supplies and money for the school, to which, for once Elizabeth accepted happily.

Hope Valley was silent and dark when Elizabeth walked out of the row house for the last time, she had packed her most valued items. She left a note on the small desk, next to the door, for anyone who would come looking for her tomorrow morning. She felt horrible about leaving her friends and the children, but it was something she needed to do, for her sake.

Elizabeth walked quietly into the town and sat patiently, waiting for the late night stage. Relief washed over here when the stage arrived on time, she didn't want anyone to see her leave, she couldn't handle the goodbyes or the inevitable convincing her not to go, that would have happened if she had tried to leave on a day coach. The coachman took her luggage and helped her onto the coach, earning a smile and a thank you back.

"Goodbye Hope Valley." She whispered, looking out the window as the stagecoach began to move. Tears rolled softly down her cheeks as the small town grew smaller and smaller in the distance until there was nothing left of Hope Valley.


	2. Chapter 2

It was cold and barely light when Elizabeth finally arrived at Fort Simpson, three days later. She felt a new excitement as she exited the stage, before a gust of freezing wind blew over her. She would have to learn to adapt to the cooler temperatures of Fort Simpson. On the stage platform, a young woman stood, wearing thick clothes. She walked up to Elizabeth as the coachman handed her, her bags,

"Hello. You must be Elizabeth Thatcher. We're very glad to have you here in Fort Simpson. I'm Ruth Smith. Your quarters aren't quite ready yet, so you'll be staying with me until it's ready. If that's okay with you of course." The woman, Ruth, said kindly. Handing Elizabeth the coat, of which the young teacher eagerly put on.

"Thank you, Mrs Smith. I wouldn't mind that at all and this coat is lovely. I'm very glad to be here too." Elizabeth replied with a smile.

"Splendid. You're most welcome my dear. My three daughters will be students in your school. Come and meet the rest of the mothers, they're in the café. Oh, and please call me Ruth." Ruth said as she turned and walked towards a small building.

The Fort Café was a small building, it was bright and clean. And Elizabeth had to admit, the food smelt divine. There were tables organised into need groups with lilac table cloths which matched the curtains.

Elizabeth looked around and saw a small group of children. The older children were working on what looked like math equations whilst the younger ones seemed to be colouring and drawing. At another table were a group of nervous women. Ruth led the young teacher to the women, who all stood up to greet her.

Minutes later, Elizabeth had met 6 mothers and 13 of her students. There was, of course, Ruth Smith, who had three daughters, Lucy, Tessie and Crystal, she also had a baby son, Luke. Justine Ray, who had a son, David. Jenny Bourne and her two children, Warner and Evelyn. Helen James, with her 4 children, Mary, May, Mark and Matt. Amanda McDonald who had a son, Harrison. And Bettie Nelson, and her twins, Sophie and Oliver. The rest of the other mothers were home-schooling their children and some of the older boys were working with their fathers until the school opened, so in total, Elizabeth was expecting a class of 26 students, only a handful more than she had in Hope Valley.

Elizabeth took a moment to watch the children working, assessing a rough idea of where they were at. Some seemed to get through their work easily where as a couple seemed to struggle. When she was done, she re-joined the mothers at their table. They were all eager to get to know about their new teacher and Elizabeth was happy to talk.

"Tell us a little bit about yourself Miss Thatcher. You said you were coming from Hope Valley, out west. Did you grow up there?" Jenny started. Elizabeth sighed.

"No. I grew up in an upper-class family in Hamilton. 5 years ago, I moved to Hope Valley, just after a mine accident, to teach the children there." She answered.

"What made you leave Hope Valley? In your telegraphs, you sounded in quiet a hurry to leave. There must be a reason." Ruth asked next. Everyone seemed to see the quick flash of pain in her eyes as Elizabeth took a heavy breath.

"While I was in Hope Valley, I fell in love with a man. He was a Mountie. We were engaged just before he left to lead a division up to fight here in the Northern Territories." She paused to take another deep breath before being cut off by Ruth.

"Oh Elizabeth. I'm so sorry." Ruth said sympathetically as she reached her hand out to the young woman's shoulder. Amanda look down at her tea before Elizabeth perked up a little bit.

"Oh no, no. He didn't die in the Northern Territories. He came home when the fight was over and we married a short two weeks later. But then he received a temporary posting in Fort Clay, to train new Mounties. Our honeymoon to Chicago was cancelled and we decided to travel to Fort Clay together, then I went back to Hope Valley for my class. It was a 2 month posting, he'd told me he would be safe. But, a couple weeks before he was due home, another Mountie had come to the town. Jack, my husband, had died. They were moving troops up the mountains, but there was a mud slide, he pushed two men out of the way, saving their lives but lost his own." She choked out the ending before bursting into tears.

Ruth and Amanda looked at each other before both stood up and took Elizabeth out to the back of the café. The other women stayed put, all trying to process the information the teacher had just given them. Out back, Ruth stayed with Elizabeth, getting the crying woman to sit on the sofa in the back of the room and comforting her. Amanda handed the young widow a glass of water, of which Elizabeth accepted. A moment later, her cries had softened to just tears.

"Thank you." She managed to get out, taking a sip of water.

"It's okay Elizabeth. Both of us lost our husbands recently as well." Amanda said comfortingly. Elizabeth looked at the woman.

"My husband, Martin, was a Mountie also. He died late in the Northern Territories attack. I lived out west just like you, in Jameson. Everything in Jameson reminded me of him and I couldn't cope, so my son and I packed our things and left the town. Martin wrote a letter of the beautiful Fort Simpson and the amazing people that were here, so I decided to move us here. He was right." Amanda continued. Ruth shifted to face Elizabeth before she shared her unfortunate story.

"I married a business man from Toronto. His name was Wallace. We moved here with our daughters, three years ago. Oil had just been discovered around here, and Wallace wanted to invest into starting an oil mine. We settled here, and he would travel to and from the mine and his office. Almost 6 months ago, he was on his way to Toronto for a business trip, when his stage was robbed and he was killed. He was a good man, I miss him dearly."

**Meanwhile… In Hope Valley…**

The town was frantic as people looked for Elizabeth. The young widow was gone almost 14 hours before Abigail found the note. She didn't say where she was going, just that she couldn't stay in the town anymore.

Telegrams were sent to her friends and family around the country, including her father, sister and Jack's mother, Charlotte, even Viola, who was still living in London. As the days and hours passed by, more chaos arose.

The children were confused and upset by the sudden disappearance of their beloved teacher. The mothers were worried for their children and their education, but also the dear woman who had done so much for the town. Rosemary could barely comprehend what had happened, still in shock, she stayed with the children, trying to comfort them with songs and stories of her times in New York.

Abigail, went to Hamilton, to the Thatcher's Residence in search for her best friend, whilst some of the men travelled to the near towns and cities, desperate to find Elizabeth.

A week after her disappearance, the chaos settled into sadness, as they tried to organise their lives again. Elizabeth gone or not, they needed to return to as normal of a life as possible. Wires and telegrams were sent out in request for a new teacher quickly, receiving a quick reply. A young teacher would be arriving in the town after New Year's, with her husband, 7 year old daughter and 4 year old son. No one wanted to replace Elizabeth, but if she thought leaving was the best thing for her, they had to accept that.

**Elsewhere…**

It was dark. Where was he? What happened? He couldn't remember anything. All he could think about was how every fibre of his being was in pain, and a name… but it wasn't his.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fort Simpson**

It had been a month since Elizabeth first moved to Fort Simpson, and she had adjusted well. It was colder than Hope Valley, but with a thick coat and skirt, it was tolerable. The people were very welcoming of her, making sure she was comfortable and happy in the teacher's cottage.

Her students were mostly hard working and very sweet, much like her class in Hope Valley, of which she had come to miss dearly. It didn't take long for the young teacher to pick out the couple trouble makers in the class. Warner Bourne and David Ray were quite the difficult pair, often reminding her of a couple of her old students.

Elizabeth, Ruth and Amanda had become very fast friends. The women often had coffee or meals together and every Saturday, the women would meet for dinner, joined by Amanda and Ruth's children. The woman helped Elizabeth to cope with Jack's death, helping her to open up about her feelings and even tell stories of their time together.

Elizabeth rang the bell, signalling the end of class for the day. The children quickly got up, chattering as they grabbed their things and left the schoolhouse. Elizabeth was feeling extremely tired and a little unwell.

The young teacher was at her desk marking the day's spelling tests when she heard a knock at the door. The door opened to reveal Ruth.

"Good afternoon, Ruth. What can I help you with?" Elizabeth asked curiously, standing up from her desk.

"Good afternoon to you too. There's a man outside who just arrived in town, he's looking for you. He's outside the schoolhouse now, would you like me to send him in?" Ruth said with a smile. Elizabeth was thoroughly confused, who would be in Fort Simpson for her?

"Sure. Send him in." She replied with a kind smile. Ruth nodded happily as she turned and walked out of the schoolhouse.

A short moment later, the door opened again. Elizabeth was shocked, as she stared at the tall man standing in front of her. Shock was taken over by excitement as she rushed into the man's arms, breathing in his familiar scent, relaxing slightly.

"Father." She sighed happily. William wrapped his arms around his daughter tighter, happy to have her in his arms. After a moment, Elizabeth stepped back, confusion had stepped back in.

"What are you doing here?" She asked curiously in a happy tone.

"I came to see how you were. I brought you some supplies and clothes. And I brought someone I think you may want to see." William replied. Fear struck Elizabeth, she didn't want anyone else to know she was here. She didn't want anyone to try to convince her to come back. William quickly noticed the fear in his daughter's expression and continued.

"Oh no, no. It's not a person, don't worry. Come with me, my dear." He said, leading Elizabeth outside of the schoolhouse, to where his car was parked in front of the café.

Ruth was standing outside, next to someone Elizabeth recognised almost instantly.

"Rip!" She called excitedly, running to the lazy, yet excited dog. Icey tears ran down her cheeks as she knelt in front Rip, stroking his head gently.

"Who found you, boy?" She said to no one in particular. Rip had gone missing during a storm before Christmas, while Jack was still in the Northern Territories. She had looked everywhere for the little dog, but after a few days and a talk from Abigail, gave up.

"He showed up at Jack's grave. Mr Avery found him when he was visiting him. Abigail sent me a telegram, she thought that if I knew where you were, you might want to have him." William stepped in, answering her question. Elizabeth looked up with a smile.

"Thank you, Father." Elizabeth said as she got up and hugged her father again.

"Anything for you to be happy, my dear." William replied with a smile. Elizabeth pulled out of the hug suddenly, excusing herself before running behind the school house.

Ruth ran after Elizabeth whilst William stood alone, confused and concerned. She found Elizabeth behind the schoolhouse. She was leaning on the wall of the building, heaving heavily. Ruth rushed to her side.

"Elizabeth! Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. Elizabeth just shook her head, she was still heaving dryly, and tears were starting to form.

"I'm taking you to the clinic. Do you think you can walk?" Ruth asked. Elizabeth nodded and with support from Ruth, they made the short walk to the clinic.

There was no wait for the clinic as five minutes later Elizabeth was sitting on the examination bed, with a bucket close by, in case she felt sick again. Ruth stood next to Elizabeth, Nurse Lawson stood on the other side of the young teacher and Doctor James had pulled over his seat, sitting in front of Elizabeth.

"Okay Elizabeth. In the last two weeks, how have you felt, physical-wise?" He asked. Elizabeth took a moment to think.

"Well I've been tired, very tired." She said.

"Anything else?" The doctor asked. Elizabeth nodded.

"I've had some back pain and headaches. And today I've been very nauseous." She admitted. Dr James looked over at the nurse, Stella Lawson, they seemed to talk with their eyes before he nodded slightly. Nurse Lawson, moved to stand in front of Elizabeth, a sympathetic expression on her face, worrying Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, when was your last cycle?" She asked. Elizabeth's worry moved to confusion.

"My… what?" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Your cycle. When was your last one?" Stella asked again.

"Oh no, I got that. But wh-" Elizabeth stopped, and realisation flooded her thoughts.

"A little over 3 months ago." She mumbled quietly. Ruth quickly pulled Elizabeth into a hug. Stella nodded again to the doctor.

"Elizabeth, you're pregnant." Stella said kindly with a smile.

**Elsewhere…**

They couldn't tell him much. His name, age, occupation and family, all a mystery to them and to him. All he knew was that name. He asked them about it, asked if anyone with that name had come for him, but no luck. He needed to get out of here, find someone who knew him. Find her.


End file.
